SONY

“There’s a line in ‘Ordinary Man’ where I sing, ‘I don’t want to die an ordinary man,’ which I don’t think I will,” Osbourne said in a statement. “It was a lot of fun to do, though. It’s a lot different from my other albums. We recorded it quickly, which I haven’t done since the first Black Sabbath album. This made it a different process, which I actually enjoyed.” Ozzy’s first solo outing in nearly 10 years, recorded in L.A, features the core band of producer Andrew Watt on guitars, GN’R’s Duff McKagan on bass and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith on drums. “It all just came together,” Ozzy explained of the guest stars. “Slash is a dear friend of mine, as is Elton. When I was writing ‘Ordinary Man,’ it reminded me of an old Elton song and I said to Sharon, ‘I wonder if he would sing on it?’ We asked and lo and behold, he agreed and sings and play piano on the song.”

2-LP
Dance / Funk
As fine as their four previous studio albums had been, Earth Wind & Fire were clearly on fire as a live act, as evidenced on ‘Gratitude’. Recorded during the first rush of mega-stardom the live portion of the album catches them playing raw but tight, stretching out the solos and arrangements and adding in several delightful new songs (“Sun Goddess”, “New World Symphony”) of a progressive nature. The genius mind and vision of Maurice White may lead this musical ensemble, but he never acts as if it belongs to him only. The live versions of “Yearnin’ Learnin’”, “Devotion” and “Sun Goddess” (which they wrote and was recorded by jazz legend Ramsey Lewis) are funky and jazzy. The standout live track is “Reasons” where Phillip Bailey treats us to a vocal tour-de-force.